What Does Spirituality Mean Anyway?
I’M SO SPIRITUAL!
Have you seen or been around people claiming a spiritual hierarchy or superiority? Do you get caught up in those preaching they are more enlightened than you are, therefore you should listen to them. What does it mean when someone says, “I’m so spiritual?” When people get involved in any type of spiritual practice, a spiritual movement, or join a large group of like-minded thinkers, there are always those that seem to boast about their spiritual experiences, insights, and evolution which ultimately leads them to claim their spiritual elitism. This seems like an oxymoron. Is it true, or is it just someone lost in the throes of the ego’s silent manipulations? It can be difficult to tell.
Spirituality has different meanings for different people. This is also seen throughout the religions of the world which all have different beliefs, different traditions, different practices, and ways of interpreting our spiritual nature. With so many differing opinions, how do we know what spirituality means to us? Are we simply following the rules of a specific doctrine, or are we taking an individual journey to discover this in our own way? And does it matter which way we go? Won’t we all eventually end up recognizing our true inherent nature, our real self?
In the world of form, we like to put parameters on spirituality. We want to read it in a book, listen to somebody else’s wisdom, or go through a designated spiritual person to gain access to the spiritual realm. We often believe that other people have some sort of authority over us, apparently granted by God (which no one else has evidence for), to grant forgiveness, recommend an appropriate penance for our sins, or maybe claim to speak directly to the spirit world, therefore they are more advanced than we are. These hierarchies appear to be saying that we are not capable of reaching our own spiritual insights, our own spiritual awareness, or our own spiritual nature. What they seem to be telling us is that you must go through a system, behave in a certain way, donate money, and pray numerous times to reach our higher power. Is that true? Or is that just a distraction from leading us directly to Truth?
CLAIMING ENLIGHTENMENT
Spiritual enlightenment has different definitions. Some explain it as a means by which you discover the nature of reality, others profess it as wisdom or knowledge, some assert it is bliss and nirvana states, while others explain it as a permanent state of being or a recognition of what was always available, they simply didn’t see it yet. The Buddha described it as a release from all suffering and the escape from the constant cycle of death and rebirth, or reincarnation. If this is true in the Buddhist tradition, why is the Dalai Lama always reincarnating back into the next Dalai Lama? Isn’t that contradictory to what enlightenment is? No matter what definition you want to believe there seems to be a general agreement that the false self is seen as nothing, and the discovery of our larger essence is known which then liberates one from any traps, attachments, and constrictions in life. Keep in mind this is all happening on the level of the mind.
Many people claim they are enlightened, something that seems contradictory to losing their identity. Why would the essence of who we really are, the totality of our being needs to claim an achievement of sorts, isn’t that the ego’s domain? If our true nature is in perfect wholeness, all-knowing, and content, why the need to project your spiritual status? Are we now developing some sort of “Spiritual Credit System” like the Chinese government’s recent installment of the “Social Credit System?” Do these people need a gold star of recognition to feel even more special? Again, this seems like a manipulation of the ego mind, not something a so-called enlightened person would do.
If it is possible to reach a state of eternal peace while still living in a body, why are we still in a body if it’s eternal? Bodies die, correct? How can we be certain that we are enlightened if we are still here? How can we possibly claim we are not reincarnating before we leave the body? Is there an invisible certificate these people get that the rest of us know nothing about?
In addition to staking claims for the rest of us to believe or not believe, these people tend to start speaking differently, using language that is often confusing to the rest of us. Often the terms used don’t even make any sense. This could be because most of us are not familiar with their state of being, therefore we may just not understand anything they are describing. But, why the confusing terminology? If you have seen the simplicity of who you are, why the language barrier? Why not speak like everybody else? Is that part of the hierarchical illusion, that now they need to appear wiser, smarter, and more sophisticated in language? It seems that when speaking to the masses, most of us need basic terms and simple explanations. Why the complication? It’s as if being human has left them, and maybe it has, but from the outside looking in, they are still in their bodies. When you are still living in this world, still housed in a body, aren’t you still in the illusion too?
DUALISM AND NON-DUALISM
Looking at this world from the point of view of duality, it seems difficult to be in a permanent state of non-dualism while living in a world of chaos. Duality is simply the belief in separation and specialness, which is the world we live in. Religion falls into this category by teaching God created all of us as separate individual souls as well as this entire universe. Non-dualism implies oneness, meaning only one thing, the wholeness that is God, or the Godhead, or Reality, whichever term you’d like to use. There is nothing other than this ONE essence, which points to the impossibility of recognizing anything outside of itself. In non-dualism everyone and everything is the same essence, essentially we are all God. How can these two go hand in hand? They are not even close to the same thing.
It seems in order to be in pure non-dualism, you would no longer be in this world of duality. To fully wake up means we are Home in God and no longer in this world of separation. However, it is possible to recognize this place of nonduality, it’s the realization we are seeking, the oneness with God, and we can know that while we are here. We can see past the illusion of our identities and that of the world, we can experience a deep expansiveness that shows us we are not what we think we are, and we can remain in that state of being while living in a body. But our final movement back to our Real Home will eventually lead us out of the body and beyond this world.
This is what spirituality and awakening are all about. The shift from seeing ourselves as separate from each other and ultimately separate from God, into intellectually understanding we are all one, and finally having an experience of that oneness. This transformation is a process, a process of undoing the small self we identify as and recognizing the larger Self that we really are.
RELIGION VS. SPIRITUALITY
We have two different approaches when looking at religion versus spirituality, but can the two intermingle? From the religious perspective, there is a set of principles or doctrines that have been passed down for millennia that set the structure for whatever the specific religion believes in. There are so many different religions, each with its own set of beliefs, expectations, etc, but the one thing they all agree on is the notion of a higher power of some kind. This is a common thread and should be noted, however, they will argue about whose God is right and whose is wrong. Each faith seems to be right in that department.
Religion bases itself upon the holy book that particular religion adheres to. These books such as the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran belong to the three largest faiths of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. In these books, people follow scriptures, practice the rules they preach, and attend regular church gatherings to listen to the word of God, pray, build community, and devote themselves to a religious practice of some kind. Many people are very religious, attend church regularly, and develop a very close relationship with God, with Jesus, or whatever religious figure they praise. There can be a pathway to spirituality through religion if someone is seeking this type of personal relationship with spirit. However, is it possible to find a deep spiritual connection without participating in religion?
If spirit is always present, available to us all the time, then the answer is yes. Why do we need to go through another person to speak to this formless presence, can’t we just connect on our own? Isn’t that the purpose of discovering who we really are is seeing this clearly ourselves? Why do we need someone else to dictate how this connection needs to happen? If there is really a higher power, the higher power religion speaks of, then why is it necessary to have religion to see it? If its presence is always there, then all of us can discover that in our own time.
Spirituality is simply our own connection to our higher self. It is an inward journey back Home. It is a private and very personal sacred space within that everyone can create, with or without religion. It’s simply a matter of what is comfortable for you. What works for you in your life? Do you gravitate toward organized religion, or are you more inclined to seek it in your own way that feels right to you? There are many pathways to self-realization, and the avenues to see this are endless. It’s when we start shaming other people for their beliefs, telling others they are wrong to believe what they believe, that our belief system is right and you are wrong, or we start trashing and hating people if their particular lifestyle doesn’t stay within the parameters of the religion that we lose sight of our true spiritual nature.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SPIRITUAL?
There is so much confusion in the world of spirituality, it’s similar to the confusion about food and diet. Where do you turn? The only place you ever need to look is within yourself. Seeking in the world can only go on for so long, then the work must be shifted within for you to begin the unraveling process. All of us are spiritual beings, each having a direct connection to the spirit that guides us. It can be easy to accuse others of lacking spirituality, yet the truth is we are all spiritual, some people simply have not discovered it yet, that’s all.
We often create rituals to remind us to connect to a higher power. We pray, meditate, chant, study the holy books, attend regular church services, seek forgiveness, donate money, help those in need, attend workshops and spiritual talks, and yet still many of us feel a disconnect from spirit. We lack our own personal relationship with our higher self. We have been led to believe that our behavior in the world advances us spiritually, but is that really the case? Isn’t it possible to build a bridge within, to create our own sacred spaces that work for us? Do we need to do anything physically to have a deep connection to who we really are?
This doesn’t mean we need to stop doing any of those things, but can we be in constant communion as we live our daily life? Can we feel our deeper essence as we take the kids to school, show up for work, argue with a family member, shop for food, attend meetings, change diapers, or do any activity we find ourselves in? Can we commit to seeing clearly, to seeing with the observer where we simply watch, connect, and stop judging ourselves and those around us? Can we smile at those we encounter who seem to be struggling because we know we are all the same? Can we accept people for who they are and where they are on their own spiritual journey? We absolutely can! It simply takes awareness, practice, and dedication. It becomes the relationship you want to build in your life and the best thing is it’s your own private personal space within. No one can dictate how you discover this. It’s up to you to create this inner pathway and connection.
Seeking guidance from a religious leader or spiritual teacher is certainly beneficial. They can certainly guide us in a direction that might resonate, however, the real spiritual work comes from you. It doesn’t need to be complicated. The simplicity is breathtaking when you begin to notice it. You have everything already available to you. It’s always been there. It’s simply a matter of uncovering it to see what was there all along.